Lincoln Center Education has donated a trove of education materials, many of them revolving around the arts, to the Leonard Lief Library – 8,000 items ranging from books, CDs, DVDs, and more.

“This is a transformative acquisition for the Lehman Library,” said Chief Librarian Kenneth Schlesinger. “This rich and varied collection will prove pivotal in supporting arts and education programs across the curriculum.”

Lincoln Center Education (LCE) fosters an innovative approach to educating children known as aesthetic education that engages students in learning about works of art through hands-on inquiry, questioning, writing and art making; in short, creative thinking.

“Lincoln Center Education is thrilled that Lehman College is the new home of this invaluable collection of contextual resources, which has for many years supported educators and teaching artists in their study of our works of art,” said Russell Granet, the Executive Director of Lincoln Center Education. “Among the materials, many books are out of print, rare, or otherwise hard to find, and we are delighted that at Lehman this rich collection continues to be accessible to art lovers and educators alike.”

There is a longstanding relationship between Lehman and the LCE. As part of their training, Lehman students frequently participate in hands-on workshops with artists at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts while faculty have taken professional development courses in aesthetic education pedagogy.

“We are proud of the strong relationship that exists between Lehman College and Lincoln Center Education,” said Dr. Harriet R. Fayne, Dean of the College’s School of Education. “Having the LCE collection on our campus will benefit both current and future teachers in the New York City metropolitan area.”

This new treasure trove of material is currently being processed by librarians and will be incorporated into the library’s existing collections. Throughout the Fall 2013 semester, the Library will host a series of free workshops—open to the public—that will explore the role the arts play in teaching in learning while highlighting the LCE collection.

To celebrate the arrival of the Lincoln Center Ecucation collection, Leonard Lief Library will host an event Thursday, September 26, 2013 – Engaging Students Through Imaginative Learning. It begins at 3:30 p.m. in the library gallery, and is free and open to the public.